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How to enable USB-Serial Port adapter (RS-232) in Ubuntu Linux

Though some might argue that Serial port are things in the past, it is still the most popular port for those who are into electronic DIY. Building electronic device with serial port interface is cheaper than buiding one that uses USB. That is the reason why people still sell USB-Serial adapter to those electronic DIY enthusiast.

As you can see, the new serial port device is mapped to /dev/ttyUSB0. You can instruct Ubuntu to load this module automatically by include the line : “usbserial vendor=0x4348 product=0x5523” inside “/etc/modules” file.

Bonus: What application benefits from usb-serial port adaptor?
For starters, there are modems which uses RS-232 serial port. Some home-made devices includes Infrared remote control which uses LIRC which also depends on the serial port.

“How to enable USB-Serial Port adapter (RS-232) in Ubuntu Linux” is very well written and enabled me (complete newcomer) to get COM2 recognised by the SeaClear.exe navigation program running under wine. Unfortunately the prog. is not receiving and NMEA input from my GPS, and any advice on what I should do next would be appreciated. Other problem – using nano I added the “usbserial vendor…” line to the “/etc/modules” file, but couldn’t work out how to save the addition. Could you help, please? Thanks a million.

“As you can see, the new serial port device is mapped to /dev/ttyUSB0. You can instruct Ubuntu to load this module automatically by include the line : “usbserial vendor=0×4348 product=0×5523? inside “/etc/modules” file.”

hope someone can help me – how can one statically assign usb serial so they map to the ttyUSBX everytime. i have 4 of these usb serial dongles and I have configured ser2net for specific tcp port to ttyUSBX (so i can telnet to the console of switches)… but once i restart PC; for eg usb serial dongle 1 which is ttyUSB0 may on next reboot may become ttyUSB1 and thus when i telnet to that port actually have consoled to another unit (as ser2net config file maps specific TCP port to ttyUSB). thanks for your help in advance.

Hello guys ,
the information here is indeed really useful and i wouldnt have wasted a day looking for drivers , had i known it would work so easily .. However my question is that , I am trying to connect a zigbee through this serial port , so can i directly write /dev/ttyUSB0 instead of the file for the Serial (i.e. /dev/ttyS0
or do i need to convert it somehow ?

i am a beginner to Linux too so please forgive me if my questions are stupid.

Many thanks! It worked right off! Also with libelium’s help to add X-CTU com port. I have been trying to get X-CTU to see my USB com to configure XBee mod for days. Now I finally can get back to work. Nice!

I sometimes need to run 2 USB serial coms. Both being from the same manufacturer, they both show the same address. Even though they are USB0 and USB1 they both have the same numbers so get the same address. Any way to change address of one so both work simultaneously?

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Hi, I’m a newcomer and my eeepc doesn’t recognize when I plug my etrex (garmin gps) to the pc via a serial usb converter. So I followed the instructions but I do not know the meaning of the last command:

As you can see, the new serial port device is mapped to /dev/ttyUSB0. You can instruct Ubuntu to load this module automatically by include the line : “usbserial vendor=0×4348 product=0×5523? inside “/etc/modules” file.

what should I exactly type? Sorry if the question may sound silly, but I’m really a newcomer and don’t know how to get it work. Thank you very much for any answer!

I ran dmesg | grep usb to get the usb portion of the listing making it easier to determine if the adapter was connected. The usb portion of the dmesg listing was not at the end but stuck somewhere in the middle of the output. I am running Ubuntu 8.04. Got the adapter connected. Thanks.

I haven’t tested it yet but hopefully this will allow me to program my HP 48GX calculator from Ubuntu. The calculator was made long before USB and many modern computers like my netbook are no longer equipped with serial ports. For those of us who use Linux, instructions like these are invaluable! Thanks for taking the time to write up this novice-friendly guide.

Thanks to you Mypapit, I can run my RS232 serial microchip picstart programmer under linux using mplabx and usb.
My old Windows ME laptop finally died and I am resisting the wine solution.
Cheers Lester

Any help is greatly appreciate on my situation. I’m running RHEL open source and I have to use two usb 2 seral adapters. The first one I was able to configure but the second I can’t. I’m running a virtual machine of windows XP, certain software requirements only run on XP, and everytime I plug in the second adapter I get this message:

Hola MyPapit,
I am trying to interface an Icom AIS receiver with my Ubuntu 12.04 controlled plotter. The plotter program is OpenCPN.

Your instructions are helpful and clear, but am still having problem. Apparently Ubuntu is recognizing the USB to RS232 converter. Using your suggested command lsusb, I see the device. I’m just not getting a data stream from the Icom. So I still don’t know if the problem is in the hardware or the software.

Can you offer any suggestions?

I am N7NST and still have active license but inactive for years now. Writing to you from Puerto Armuelles, Panama and headed for Ecuador.
73 Jim

Wrote C code to open port, read, and write. Having issues with writing to the USB port.

Can someone help with an email to jberry@geifuelcells.com if you have a link to some other code that has worked with REDHAT linux to just open USB port for serial text communcations. It so simple, it should work.